DRINKING WATER
Your Chlorine Sensor Is Lying to You — Here's 65 Days Of Proof
The operators at Compton Durville Water Treatment Works thought their chlorine dosing was under control. Their Siemens Depolox membrane sensor showed residuals right at setpoint. The PID loop was doing its job. On paper, everything looked fine. It wasn't.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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Put A 'Stop' To Water-Main-Repair Shutdowns And Boil-Water Notices
For most water or wastewater system operators, engineers, and repair crews, the only thing worse than facing a 24”-main emergency repair is facing an even larger one. To those who have never performed an emergency line stop and bypass, the idea of completing repairs with no service outage, no long-term shutdown, and no ‘boil water’ notice is almost beyond belief. To those who have, it’s a sigh of relief.
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From Zero To 2 Million
Since 1977, Endress+Hauser has produced over two million electromagnetic flowmeters. That is more than any other manufacturer. “This magic number stands for high-quality measuring technology and, above all, satisfied customers in all kinds of industries,” says Bernd-Josef Schäfer, Managing Director of Endress+Hauser Flowtec AG, the center of competence for flow measuring technology.
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Improved Flow Measurement Through Multiple In-Pipe Readings
A combination of water scarcity and the desire to provide exceptional service has driven water utility managers to be focused more than ever on acquiring accurate, real-time insight into their distribution systems. Operators face a natural hurdle, however, when using traditional center-line electromagnetic flow meters, which don’t account for velocities that vary across a pipe. Fortunately, a solution has emerged to address the issue.
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How Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Can Protect Against Drought
Learn how common wastewater technologies are being leveraged in decentralized systems and how they can open opportunities for innovation and better water management in the face of drought.
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Quick Response Restores Critical Water Supply To North Carolina Community During COVID-19 Outbreak
During the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak — when handwashing and sanitation were essential to maintaining public health — a reduction in water supply to residents quickly became critical.
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Rural Water Corporation Solves Chloramine Residual Issue
Bluebonnet Rural Water Corporation (BRWC), a subsidiary of Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative, serves approximately 1,094 water meters in northeast Washington County, TX, but had a water storage problem not unfamiliar to even the largest water utilities in Texas.
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Why Smart Meters Without Turbidity Monitoring Will Soon Be Obsolete: A Call To Action For The Water Industry
Turbidity monitoring is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of modern water quality management, crucial for detecting contaminants and ensuring safe drinking water.
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East Bay Municipal Utility District Successfully Manages Chloramine Residual In Ten Million Gallon Reservoir With The Process Solutions, Inc. Monoclor® RCS Chloramine Management System
Located on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) treats and distributes water to over 1.3 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
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Water Reuse Strategies: Steel Industry Case Studies
Successful reuse of water back into industrial water applications requires a comprehensive understanding of process design, water chemistry, membrane systems, chemical treatment, instrumentation and control. By David Christophersen, Technical Support Manager, Crown Solutions
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How ABB's Flow And Digital Technologies Help Bawat With Smarter Ballast Water Compliance
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) sets strict global standards for ballast water management to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic organisms. For companies like Bawat, a Danish innovator in ballast water management, being able to verify ballast water flow measurements quickly, accurately, and from anywhere in the world is essential.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Pile Cloth Media Filtration Removes 97% Of Microplastics From Wastewater12/6/2023
Learn about filtering microplastics from industrial wastewater prior to discharge, and how this is one way to effectively reduce the volume of this waste material from entering our surface water.
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(E)-2-Nonenal In Beer4/5/2015
Numerous compounds contribute to changes in beer flavor as it becomes stale. One of these compounds, (E)-2-nonenal, has been investigated as a major source of the papery/cardboard flavor that develops in aged beer.
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Determination Of Polar Pesticide Residues In Food Of Plant Origin, By And Automate QuPPe Solution9/29/2014
The QuEChERS (Quick-Easy-Cheap-Effective-Rugged-Safe) sample extraction method was developed for the determination of pesticide residues in agricultural commodities.
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UV Technology Offers Solution For Emerging Water Crisis2/19/2014
Many are turning to UV as an effective barrier to enable the reuse of wastewater, for indirect reuse, and aquifer recharge.
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Application Note: Water Flows From The Golden Hills Of California1/20/2010Each morning John Johnson drives the few miles from his smalltown home in northern California to the Center at Pardee Reservoir. Nestled among the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, the reservoir is a long 100 miles away from San Francisco Bay. By YSI
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Waterworks Joints 10110/30/2025
There are many different joints that can be found on waterworks pipeline components. This paper focuses on the three most common joints.
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What Are You Doing To My Pipe: Can PVC Pipe Be Loaded?4/13/2021
The argument has been used that PVC pipe is delicate and can’t be subjected to any kind of loading. In EBAA's years of testing we have found that is not the case at all. PVC can take an extreme amount of strain.
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Reduce Or Eliminate Water Hammer With Valve Positioners5/19/2022
Water hammer, which can occur in just about any pumping system and even steam systems, can lead to pipe breakage, equipment damage or even total system failure. Addressing water hammer at the source is the savviest and most cost-effective way to handle the issue.
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Determination Of EN15662:2008 - Determination Of Pesticide Residue In Food Of Plant Origin, By An Automated QuEChERS Solution9/24/2014
Pesticide residue laboratories are required to undertake analyses of an ever increasing number of samples. The analyses typically involve use of multi-residue methods (both GC-MS and LC-MS) to test for over 500 pesticide residues.
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Aquafine Ultraviolet Treatment Systems For TOC Reduction1/29/2025
Aquafine TOC reduction units coupled with ion exchange systems or EDI will oxidize trace organics into smaller ionic species, carbon dioxide and water, which are more readily removed by ion exchange resins, EDI, and/or degasifiers.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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Currently, water infrastructure is outdated and fragile, prone to breakages and leaks. Reactive approaches to water infrastructure are only implemented after an incident and are more expensive than simple maintenance fixes. Geotechnical Internet of Things (IoT) devices enable water and wastewater industry professionals to identify and address issues before they escalate into catastrophic events.
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A new study linking certain groundwater sources to higher Parkinson’s risk underscores a broader question for the water sector: how environmental exposures in drinking water may influence long-term health.
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The growing demand for water across a variety of sectors combined with the increasingly understood complexity of emerging contaminants is creating a dynamic marketplace for filtration media. The goal of selecting the right filtration media is not to meet minimum standards but to achieve the right balance of performance, durability, and operational simplicity to ensure long-term compliance and cost-effective operation.
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Emerging state water reuse regulations are driving adoption of ozone and advanced oxidation, requiring flexible, high-performance systems to meet pathogen, trace organic, and DBP control objectives.
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EPA’s proposed perchlorate regulation challenges utilities to integrate advanced oxidation and separation technologies, enabling reliable removal, regulatory compliance, and flexible treatment for emerging contaminants.
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Ozone system performance hinges on reactor design, not generator size. Efficient mass transfer, hydraulic integrity, and contact time ensure consistent oxidation, reduced energy use, and reliable treatment results.
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.